East Lyme has historically been shaped by the water. In the late 1800s, city residents seeking a quiet summer escape discovered East Lyme, and cottages, businesses, and hotels were quickly built to meet their needs. East Lyme portrays two parts of the town: Flanders, the inland farming and weaving mill community, and Niantic, the coastal village on Long Island Sound. Pictured are the grand hotels-the Morton House, the Colonial Inn, and the Golden Spur with its diving horses and dancing. Scenes include the soldiers of the bicycle corps at Camp Niantic in 1887, elegant seaside picnics with women in long white dresses and large-brimmed hats, and destruction from the Hurricane of 1938.